UPDATE: What is Mortal Kombat: Rebirth ?

UPDATE: Jeri Ryan has revealed on her Twitter account what the video was made for – “Not a game trailer. Actually was made by the director to sell WB on his vision for a reimagined MK film.”

UPDATE #2: CraveOnline has scored an exclusive interview with Matt Mullins, the actor who plays Johhny Cage in the short film and who discusses how the project came about. Click here to check it out.

Speculation has run rampant today with the debut of a short “Mortal Kombat” film (subtitled “Rebirth”) that made its way anonymously to YouTube. Now, Latino Review reports that the film is, as many theorized, a test for a potential R-rated film reboot of the video game franchise.

The short is directed by Kevin Tancharoen, the director of last year’s Fame, and features a cast that includes name actors like Michael Jai White (Jax), Jeri Ryan (Sonya Blade), Matt Mullins (Johnny Cage), Lateef Crowder (Baraka) and Ian Anthony Dale (Scorpion) with fight choreography by Larnell Stovall.

Though there is no guarantee that these actors will play the characters in a feature film version or even that a feature film will actually happen, the short is already a huge success online, with the word “Kombat” already a trending topic on Twitter.